Cassandra escaped the city through the sewers, which in Garlemald are thankfully well kept and rather roomy, until she found herself at the southernmost edge of the city and the wilderness with the Juturna G platform in the distance and the town that would one day be called "Camp Broken Glass" to west of her.

She travelled on foot to this town where merchants and tradespeople both lived and stayed on a layover of sorts before heading to the city or back over the mountains and the rest of the Empire.

Cassius had meant to take her here personally and make contact with someone he knew to take her the rest of the way, but circumstances limited this and Cassandra had to figure it out on her own.

She travelled under the name Hanna, claiming she had been a maid within the Palace but had taken a severance to see the rest of the Empire and joined a caravan heading south. None questioned her and word hadn't traveled from the capital yet of her disappearance.

The caravan took her through Ilsabard and eventually to Corvos and from there she quietly took her leave of the caravan and hid herself on a Thavnairian trading barge headed back to the island kingdom of Thavnair but was discovered by the Au Ra captain midway through the sail over the Bounty. She begged him to not toss her overboard and that she would learn his trade and work for her passage if he didn't turn the boat around. Perhaps sensing her desperation to leave the Empire, the captain obliged and she found herself in the port town just outside of Radz-At-Han.

The captain took her to the Aetheryte, and perhaps to test if she was Garlean despite her wearing a bandana to cover this, bade her to attune to the aetheryte as a sort of challenge to make sure she wasn't a spy. Much to her surprise, and the captain's, she was able to attune to the aetheryte.

Cassandra made her way up to Radz-at-Han in search of work and found it as a weaver and porter, picking up the skill of dancing to make extra money at the local tavern as well. Her ability to attune to the aetheryte made her useful as a porter and she travelled between the various towns which had them as a messenger until she found herself back at the port town. The same captain offered a job on his ship as her skills had grown and this made her useful on board. Cassandra accepted as she could still feel the eyes of the Frumentarium on her even here and perhaps on a ship meant she'd finally be free.

Cassandra learned the ropes of sailing and her third eye, even hidden under the bandanna, gave her the unique advantage to never get seasick and to adjust to the movement of the waves and wind within minutes. The captain also noted her ability to sew and keep the sails in good repair, her ability to fight when she had to with either a blade, her fists, or a chakram. She had a natural command presence when allowed responsibility and so he took her under her wing and taught her what he knew of sailing, navigation on the seas, fishing, and other things the fledgling sailor would need to not only survive but thrive on the seas. Cassandra soaked everything up and found she loved the sea, the ships, and life as a sailor in general. The quiet, demure, Garlean noble lady slipped away and in her place stood the confident, outgoing and loud sailor instead. For the first time in her entire life, Cassandra felt like she belonged and that she had found her place.

Unfortunately, a storm forced the ship to dock for an extended time in Vesper Bay and she found herself without a ship as both her captain and her were disappointed that the ship had sustained so much damage that it was now unsailable (and that they had been very lucky it had made it into port at all without sinking). The captain took passage back to Thavnair, but Cassandra instead made her way to Ul'dah and a new place to explore.

Her arrival in Ul'dah found herself in the middle of a fist fight between some ruffians and the lalafel trainer of the Pugilist guild. When Cassandra helped put the ruffians back into their place with a well placed fist and tossing one on their arse, the lalafel took her back to the Guild to introduce her to the guild master, a man known as Holyfist. Over the course of a year, she helped whip the old man back into shape for a comeback while working as a bouncer at the Adventurer's Guild and bar. She further refined her skills as a weaver and picked up honest work as a miner, even if the work was backbreaking.

She chose to avoid associating herself with the Ironworks or even attempting to reach out to Cid or the others for fear this would attract attention to herself, not to mention she was sure this would be the first place anyone looked given her former betrothal.

After a close encounter with a woman named Drusilla, and her gang, Cassandra decided to hop the next ferry to Limsa Lominsa. While Drusilla promised she wouldn't rat her out to the other Garleans, that close was still too close and Ul'dah's climate was slightly warmer - and far drier - than she was comfortable with. She was also attracting a bit too much attention from the Ala Mhigans who had fled there and, unlike her father, her face was known to many of them.

Cassandra arrived in Limsa Lominsa and found herself pressed into service by Baderon, running odd jobs and solving smaller problems that took her all over La Noscea. She picked up a few more trades to help pay for her room at the inn, and eventually gained the attention of the Admiral herself. When the Admiral noted her talents, she joined the Maelstrom and worked her way up through the ranks. With her previous experience in Thavnair taken into account, she soon found herself a lieutenant and the second in command of a warship even though she still did missions through Baderon and the Rogue's Guild.

Eventually, the old captain announced his intent to retire and put Cassandra's name forward to be his successor. The Admiral saw no reason to refuse and Cassandra found her new life as Captain Cassandra Wolfe of the South Sea.

The gears of change began when she rescued a soaking wet miqo'te from the sea just off the coast of Ul'dah, one with a strange tale and no memory of the previous five years - Meredith Cooke, who claimed to be a member of an organization called "The Path of the Twelve" and asked fervently to be returned to Vesper Bay, or some place close where she could find passage there.

Cassandra, with the currents and prevailing winds unfortunately taking her past there, promised to drop Meredith off in Limsa Lominsa.

Cassandra Wolfe was born Princess Cassandra yae Galvus, the daughter of an arranged marriage between Gaius van Baelsar (then Gaius tol Baelsar) and Vittoria wir Galvus, a daughter of Emperor Solus zos Galvus.

Cassandra is one of the many, many cousins such alliances and marriages brokered by Solus himself. Some were questionable, but given what we know of Solus (aka: The Ascian known as 'Emet-Selch', which was not his real name either as even among his kind that was more a title, but we digress) but only one of the very few to have survived a massive purge when there was an attempt to overthrow Solus's rule of the Garlean Empire and then only because Cassandra had only been an infant at the time as well as other extenuating circumstances related to how her father helped save the Emperor and stop the insurgents in their tracks.

Her mother, however, having spearheaded the rebellion amongst her own family paid the price for her betrayal. While Cassandra was allowed (given her obvious innocence and her father's actions) to remain a royal but her social rank was reduced to wir and from then on she was known as Lady Cassandra wir Baelsar instead. Her place as a possible heir to the throne was also revoked, but as her father was granted the rank of Legatus of the XIVth, she would never know the difference as the daughter of a Legatus and distant relative of the Emperor gave her many of the same luxuries and social standing as before... not that she was old enough to ever remember being a Princess to begin with.

“Upon my reaching the status of Legatus, his Radiance saw fit to gift it to me,” said Gaius. “It once was his. Note the artistry of the handle and the inscriptions upon the blade that now sit on it. It has been rebuilt to fit none but my hand by none other than Midas nan Garlond. Each bolt, and each spring, balanced. A gift, for my service in the Nights of Blood. It has been renamed Heirsbane—for with it I slew no less than eight that sought to take what was not theirs to take.”

“Am I to be the ninth?” she asked.

He sighed heavily. “That depends on you, Vittoria. Emperor Solus zos Galvus has laid down this one thing as your punishment in your role in all of this—death. Whether by Heirsbane or your own hand, it matters not. Either take up the same dagger that you attempted to end both his, and mine own, life or make another attempt at it. Know this, if you do attempt, then you shall be the ninth traitor upon this blade will drink deep.”

From Bane Herades

Despite this, Solus doted on his granddaughter and award her father with quite a few honours, the least of which was as his favourite Legatus for giving him such a tiny little prize in addition to growing the Empire with his conquests.

As Gaius's daughter, Cassandra grew up never wanting for anything and was sent to the best schools. As Gaius was usually quite busy outside of the core of Garlemald and in the provinces, or busy claiming new territory, Cassandra often found herself fostered with other nobles including Midas nan Garlond and her mother's family within the Imperial Palace until she was in her early teens and deemed old enough for her own stint within the military.

Gaius took this opportunity to take her with him to both Werlyt and Ala Mhigo, long since conquered and now provinces in which he sat as Viceroy, for her to expand her world view and spend her time in the military under his direct supervision. Of course, part of this was also because he missed his children and seeing Cassandra close by and being able to spend time with her when she was not in training or in the field herself truly made him happy.

It was in Werlyt that she met his other wards that he had adopted, and like him, she took them under her wing and considered each of the Au Ra her family as he did. To this day, Allie is able to finangle Cassandra into almost anything.

The whispers of young voices did not escape Rhitahtyn’s notice, especially since they seemed to fall silent each and every time he drew near. Finally, he walked over and watched as the five Au Ra children fell completely silent as he towered over them. “All right, you’ve been whispering and plotting something for hours now. Out with it.”

“Lord Rhitahtyn, you’re a friend of Father’s, right?” asked the oldest girl.

Rhitahtyn felt his eyebrows raise at this. “I don’t know if I would go that far, but, yes, I do have a bit of his confidence.”

“Are you familiar with something called ‘Father’s Day’?” asked one of the other ones. “It is all right if you are not, perhaps it is silly, but it is an Eorzean holiday that spread up to Terncliff before the Plague.”

Rhitahtyn blinked, recognizing the name of it but not sure why they would… and then it hit him. “Oh, you little rascals,” he said, grinning. “Planning something for Lord van Baelsar to honour him, are you?”

From Father's Day

Cassandra tried to get along with Livia, but the prickly young woman kept her at arm's length. There was a mutual respect as Cassandra and Livia often found themselves having to work together during Cassandra's two years in the army.

Like her father, Cassandra was talented although it wasn't something she wanted to pursue for herself and, as a noble expected to carry on the House she knew that one day she'd be expected to marry and serve as her husband's lady of the house instead... and that arranged marriage had always been set between Midas nan Garlond and her father with her betrothed none other than Midas's son, Cid.

But that would not last.

Bozja ended many things for Cassandra with the first being her betrothal to Cid when the latter defected from Garlemald with a few others in tow. Seen as a traitor, it meant that the arranged marriage was annulled before she was of age, leaving the question of a match up in the air. Despite not being an heir to the throne, her relation to Solus meant that anyone marrying her also had that direct line to the Emperor and that was a position many a noble from Senate to military saw as an immediate opportunity to ask for the necessary permissions as her suitor, and perhaps (hopefully) her new betrothed.

Solus used this, as an Ascian to stoke rivilaries and to increase the wealth he had to use by picking only the richest and most promising of suitors (even if they were older than her father at the time) as possibilities, stating that Gaius's attempt had failed and therefore it was his right to now choose for her. Much to both Cassandra and Gaius's horror, Cassandra was then betrothed to another Legatus older than Gaius but whose family had rich connections in the trade of ceruleum and whose estate sat on a curious Allagan ruin.

Cassandra would spend one more winter in Werlyt with her father and adoptive family, and then to secure this arrangement she was recalled back to Garlemald to live most of her days within the Imperial Palace and under the watchful eye of not only Solus, but also Varis and Titus. She was allowed rare days back to her father's Manor where her father's non-military personal friends and staff could watch over her. The three of the highest ranking ones of those retainers were Cassius, who had his own history with the Emperor, Valentina, an opera singer, and Marilla, a founding member of the Populares. The three would try to console their young charge, but as the day drew ever closer, Cassandra grew more despondent.

A chance meeting with her new betrothed alleviated this only slightly when he promised he would always be kind and seemed more than a little bit alarmed when he noted her young age. While Cassandra was a cousin of Varis, she was not that much older than Zenos and her suitor had been expecting someone closer to the same age as Varis and a fellow widow... not someone who would be more like a daughter to him than a wife but to annul the wedding would strongly imply that that Cassandra's honour was in question and he couldn't do that to her either. Surprised at this, Cassandra was less despondent but still saddened as she knew this man would not be the one she grew old with and leave her a young widow instead.

A shower of fire and meteors rained from the sky over Garlemald. Cassandra pushed herself to stand and past her lady in waiting to the window as she pushed her hands on it. “Can you see it?” she asked. “A sky full of fire… it’s a sky full of fire…”

From Hear, Feel, Think